Time For Gerrard To Be Ruthless now

Drumchapel-Bear

Drumchapel-Bear

Well-Known Member
To kick this team on to the next stage of our development?

This isn't a negative or reactionary thread to last night. I'm extremely proud of this group of players for everything they have done this season and to get to the middle of March and this only being the first game we have lost, it is an incredible achievement.

But....last night maybe, I wouldn't say highlights our limitations but it certainly shows the ceiling for this team in a European sense. Slavia are a better side than many are giving them credit for, but they didn't actually really do much last night. Once they scored early, they were happy to sit back and defend (they were outstanding defensively to be fair) and then they just kicked everything that moved, especially Kent who they had clearly identified as our danger man, totally killed the flow of the game. A typical European Performance from a savvy team who know what they are doing.

Next season marks the next chapter of Gerrard's Reign if you like, with us winning the title now and having the opportunity to reach the CL for the first time under his management. Now, I don't expect us to get into the Group Stages and then qualify, albeit you never know after seeing Porto do it this season but I think last night showed if we want to get into the CL and at least be competitive, and get 3rd at least and drop down into The Europa League we need to strengthen again this summer. We can't stand still and Gerrard can't be too loyal to some of these players. Celtic are going to be back stronger again next season also so we really need Gerrard to be ruthless in the transfer market this summer and move on players who although they have done brilliant for us, have maybe reached the end of their cycle or are getting on a bit in age now and significantly upgrade the quality.

Defence

Tav and Goldson contract issues need resolved - hopefully both stay but if they were to leave, that's two massive gaps to fill and Balogun is also out of contract.
Barisic - will he go?

Midfield

Davis out of contract
Arfield 32
Jack always injured
Zungu heading back to France
Kamara attracting a lot of interest and could possibly go

Up Front

Alfie could go and would need replaced
We would be ok after that, although Slavia showed last night if you boot Kent out of the game we don't have a similar threat coming from the other side, especially with Tav being injured. So if you are being greedy, we could be doing with a right sided attacker of the quality of Kent


It's probably a bigger summer ahead for us in the transfer market than a lot of people realise. Gerrard needs to be ruthless (and I think he will be) if he wants to take us to the next level which is making us a Last 8 or even Last 4 Europa League Team.
 
Drumchapel-Bear said:
To kick this team on to the next stage of our development?

This isn't a negative or reactionary thread to last night. I'm extremely proud of this group of players for everything they have done this season and to get to the middle of March and this only being the first game we have lost, it is an incredible achievement.

But....last night maybe, I wouldn't say highlights our limitations but it certainly shows the ceiling for this team in a European sense. Slavia are a better side than many are giving them credit for, but they didn't actually really do much last night. Once they scored early, they were happy to sit back and defend (they were outstanding defensively to be fair) and then they just kicked everything that moved, especially Kent who they had clearly identified as our danger man, totally killed the flow of the game. A typical European Performance from a savvy team who know what they are doing.

Next season marks the next chapter of Gerrard's Reign if you like, with us winning the title now and having the opportunity to reach the CL for the first time under his management. Now, I don't expect us to get into the Group Stages and then qualify, albeit you never know after seeing Porto do it this season but I think last night showed if we want to get into the CL and at least be competitive, and get 3rd at least and drop down into The Europa League we need to strengthen again this summer. We can't stand still and Gerrard can't be too loyal to some of these players. Celtic are going to be back stronger again next season also so we really need Gerrard to be ruthless in the transfer market this summer and move on players who although they have done brilliant for us, have maybe reached the end of their cycle or are getting on a bit in age now and significantly upgrade the quality.

Defence

Tav and Goldson contract issues need resolved - hopefully both stay but if they were to leave, that's two massive gaps to fill and Balogun is also out of contract.
Barisic - will he go?

Midfield

Davis out of contract
Arfield 32
Jack always injured
Zungu heading back to France
Kamara attracting a lot of interest and could possibly go

Up Front

Alfie could go and would need replaced
We would be ok after that, although Slavia showed last night if you boot Kent out of the game we don't have a similar threat coming from the other side, especially with Tav being injured. So if you are being greedy, we could be doing with a right sided attacker of the quality of Kent


It's probably a bigger summer ahead for us in the transfer market than a lot of people realise. Gerrard needs to be ruthless (and I think he will be) if he wants to take us to the next level which is making us a Last 8 or even Last 4 Europa League Team.
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Last week the manager said that he will be having a private conversation with the directors regarding recruitment this summer
 
I've said it numerous times on here, we need a big physical Viera type midfielder to compliment all of our other players and complete the jigsaw. They are hard to come by at any price but that is the type of player we need. whenever we come up against stronger/physical teams we seem to struggle a bit.
 
I think midfield is the area we need to strengthen most. Arfield and Davis have been excellent for us but they’re not getting any younger and while they’ll still be good enough for the league the step up in Europe might just be beyond them.

Not a knee jerk reaction and they’ll still have a role to play. Jack’s fitness is a bit of a concern so we might need at least 2 first team quality midfielders.

I’m not convinced Alfie will leave, I think he might fancy a crack at the Champions League, unless he gets a chance to move to a club who’ll be in it.

I agree it’s another big transfer window but remember this team are undefeated in the league in 32 games and by no means in a bad way
 
I dont think Prague we really better footballers in terms of ability, but physically they absolutely dominated us, and then were very savvy in how they played the ref who was exceptionally weak. It was like watching us against Aberdeen under Mcinnes or Kilmarnock under Clarke, but the difference was they could play a bit as well.

Midfield definitely needs investment for this level. We still haven't spent any real money in there since Gerrard came in.
 
I get what the OP is saying but sometimes you'd think that we hadn't steamrollered the league. These threads have been few and far between this season and have only really popped up after draws and well just the two defeats all season.

Saying that, our recruitment depends a lot on who goes and who stays like the OP states. I agree that certain areas, like the midfield will need to be improved on, but we are in a great position to make our squad better. Recruitment will be nowhere like it was when Gerrard first came in or like it was even last summer.
 
Arkanoid said:
You're lumbering us with a bigger rebuilding job than Celtic
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Tbh i agree with the OP. You never stand still in football and players come and go. The rebuilding in the summer is nowhere near the scale of previous years but still needs addressed. More steel required in centre mid as Jack is unfortunately made of glass and a replacement for davis is essential
 
Jingle64 said:
Tbh i agree with the OP. You never stand still in football and players come and go. The rebuilding in the summer is nowhere near the scale of previous years but still needs addressed. More steel required in centre mid as Jack is unfortunately made of glass and a replacement for davis is essential
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He's potentially got 9 players leaving mate! There's being ruthless by adding quality year on year which is what we've been doing just look at this seasons improvement, and potentially losing 33% of your entire squad from sales, old age, injury prone or due to end of contract. That's nowhere close to how anyone sees our summer going surely?
 
I think we will look for bring in a couple of midfielders and a cb. I could also see us selling barisic due to his age, so then we’d need to bring in a new left back as well. I don’t think we will sell many players this window, maybe only barisic.
 
Prague are a good side that’s what we need to remember. Our strongest 11 could’ve gave them a better game tonight but it wasn’t to be. I’m as gutted as every bear is but we are building a great team. If we keep this team together I see great things for years to come
 
Bigbluebear said:
I dont think Prague we really better footballers in terms of ability, but physically they absolutely dominated us, and then were very savvy in how they played the ref who was exceptionally weak. It was like watching us against Aberdeen under Mcinnes or Kilmarnock under Clarke, but the difference was they could play a bit as well.

Midfield definitely needs investment for this level. We still haven't spent any real money in there since Gerrard came in.
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I actually thought that watching the game last night, very similar to Aberdeen but with actual football players.
 
midfield was always going to needed to be rebuilt starting in the summer. Get Jack fit enough for the Euros, hope he does well and sell him.
Can’t be trusted long term.

Arfield out of contract next summer? Let him see out his deal as a squad player.
 
The defence isn't good enough for the later stages of European competitions. Conceded quite a few in europe this season. I thought we would have to score 3 last night to go through before the game as we would conceed 2. Sendings off changed the game a bit but they looked comfortable before that.
 
We definitely need a top midfielder.
I think we need a 3 of Davis/Jack on rotation, Kamara + One other to be a match-winning midfield general mould.
 
The issue with conceding more in Europe is that a lot of it comes down to our midfielders other than jack, aren’t very good at tracking runners into the box, get a couple who do and that will help the issue.
 
Assuming all existing squad stay: we need an upgrade creative midfielder. We also need an upgrade at CH. Balogan is out of his depth at that be at level as both bookings showed last night.

Hellander is also out of his depth against any team with pace. We need a new CH.

In midfield we need creativity. Arfield spent last night charging around like an elephant in the first day of mating season. No where near good enough for that level if football.

For me that is all we are short. Two players.
 
Arkanoid said:
He's potentially got 9 players leaving mate! There's being ruthless by adding quality year on year which is what we've been doing just look at this seasons improvement, and potentially losing 33% of your entire squad from sales, old age, injury prone or due to end of contract. That's nowhere close to how anyone sees our summer going surely?
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What you on about? All of the players I have mentioned are players who could leave, for different reasons outwith Zungu who will definitely leave.

Where did I mention anything about us needing a bigger rebuild than Celtic as well? Just wanting to be slightly better than Celtic is why we have been sh*t in Europe for the majority of the last 30 years or so. We need to always look to improve and be good in Europe as well.
 
DRAGO said:
2 midfielders and a right sided attacker is where the money should be spent. We are still in need of an extra physical presence in the middle of the park.
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This is what I think too. And if Alfie goes a quality centre forward.
 
Drumchapel-Bear said:
What you on about? All of the players I have mentioned are players who could leave, for different reasons outwith Zungu who will definitely leave.

Where did I mention anything about us needing a bigger rebuild than Celtic as well? Just wanting to be slightly better than Celtic is why we have been sh*t in Europe for the majority of the last 30 years or so. We need to always look to improve and be good in Europe as well.
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Well if all the players that could leave, actually leave then the rebuild will be bigger than Celtic. So what I said is what I'm saying again. I just don't see us allowing that scenario arising, surely being ruthless is adding 2 or 3 quality players which pushes players to squad roles, not having your core squad gutted
 
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I would like to see Simpson in for a game or two with Goldson and we have the other kid from Bournemouth on pre contract already. Jones an Barker will go for sure as will Stewart and Katic should be back. Not sure about Edmundson
 
It’s the fact Slavia controlled the game and looked so comfy.

For me, our midfielders struggle against physical players. By physical I mean genuine athletes, not the hatchet men at Livi and Kilmarnock.

Would like a couple of players that could add this dimension to our game.
 
Arkanoid said:
Well if all the players that could leave, actually leave then the rebuild will be bigger than Celtic. So what I said is what I'm saying again. I just don't see us allowing that scenario arising, surely being ruthless is adding 2 or 3 quality players which pushes players to squad roles, not having your core squad gutted
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I don't want Tav or Goldson to leave. If they don't sign new deals though the club has no choice. I don't want Barisic to leave, but he's approaching his late 20s now with maximum sell on value.

The being ruthless part is upgrading the midfield and leaving behind guys like Jack and Arfield who although they have been great servants for us, we need to seriously upgrade if we want to get to the next level. If we are happy enough just trying to win the league in Scotland, then fair enough but I suspect Gerrard has far greater ambitions than only finishing a point ahead of Celtic every season.
 
SuperGers07 said:
midfield was always going to needed to be rebuilt starting in the summer. Get Jack fit enough for the Euros, hope he does well and sell him.
Can’t be trusted long term.

Arfield out of contract next summer? Let him see out his deal as a squad player.
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Wish people would stop suggesting we punt Jack. We aren't going to get any kind of worthwhile fee for an injury prone midfielder turning 30 next season who has spent his entire career in Scotland.

The best thing we can do is try to manage his injuries better next season to get more out of him. If he's only fit enough to be a squad player moving forward then so be it.
 
It's midfield. We still lack that 'something' in there.

Ideally a box to box brick shithouse with athleticism and ability to win and carry the ball up the park and score 10 goals minimum in the league.

Whether it time that's Ofoborh remains to be seen but we still need a physically dominant player in midfield for me.
 
Drumchapel-Bear said:
To kick this team on to the next stage of our development?

This isn't a negative or reactionary thread to last night. I'm extremely proud of this group of players for everything they have done this season and to get to the middle of March and this only being the first game we have lost, it is an incredible achievement.

But....last night maybe, I wouldn't say highlights our limitations but it certainly shows the ceiling for this team in a European sense. Slavia are a better side than many are giving them credit for, but they didn't actually really do much last night. Once they scored early, they were happy to sit back and defend (they were outstanding defensively to be fair) and then they just kicked everything that moved, especially Kent who they had clearly identified as our danger man, totally killed the flow of the game. A typical European Performance from a savvy team who know what they are doing.

Next season marks the next chapter of Gerrard's Reign if you like, with us winning the title now and having the opportunity to reach the CL for the first time under his management. Now, I don't expect us to get into the Group Stages and then qualify, albeit you never know after seeing Porto do it this season but I think last night showed if we want to get into the CL and at least be competitive, and get 3rd at least and drop down into The Europa League we need to strengthen again this summer. We can't stand still and Gerrard can't be too loyal to some of these players. Celtic are going to be back stronger again next season also so we really need Gerrard to be ruthless in the transfer market this summer and move on players who although they have done brilliant for us, have maybe reached the end of their cycle or are getting on a bit in age now and significantly upgrade the quality.

Defence

Tav and Goldson contract issues need resolved - hopefully both stay but if they were to leave, that's two massive gaps to fill and Balogun is also out of contract.
Barisic - will he go?

Midfield

Davis out of contract
Arfield 32
Jack always injured
Zungu heading back to France
Kamara attracting a lot of interest and could possibly go

Up Front

Alfie could go and would need replaced
We would be ok after that, although Slavia showed last night if you boot Kent out of the game we don't have a similar threat coming from the other side, especially with Tav being injured. So if you are being greedy, we could be doing with a right sided attacker of the quality of Kent


It's probably a bigger summer ahead for us in the transfer market than a lot of people realise. Gerrard needs to be ruthless (and I think he will be) if he wants to take us to the next level which is making us a Last 8 or even Last 4 Europa League Team.
Click to expand...
Where is the money coming from? Noises have already been made about balancing the books this summer.
We cannot get into the mentality of spending money we do not have , on a punt at the CL.
Defend the title, qualify for group stages of CL would be progress imo. This would then bring cash in that would allow us to invest sensibly for the following season.
 
High Society said:
I give up I really do, are you serious? We had an off night but we’re still alive until The second red. FF full of would be managers and panic merchants.
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Bit of an immature response to a fair point.

We need to improve to make and/or compete in the Champions League.

Zero doubt about it.
 
This will be unpopular with some but personally I would say thanks but no thanks to Balogun for that extra year.
Midfield needs serious money spent on it imo for the reasons stated in OP. If someone offered us serious £ for Aribo I would take it and invest in midfield.Morelos is away probably. Defoe as well with Morelos money we need 2 strikers in and I'd like to see Itten get some real game time between now and end of season.
 
The middle of the pitch is the area it’s going to be easiest to add quality to for me, and between injury issues aging players and upcoming contract situations we need to invest in that area anyway.

We might need to wait and see what Kamara and Aribo’s decision on new deals are in the summer (both will have two years left), and once that’s resolved I’d like to see us invest heavily in long-term Davis and Arfield replacements/upgrades.
 
Mustang mad said:
Where is the money coming from? Noises have already been made about balancing the books this summer.
We cannot get into the mentality of spending money we do not have , on a punt at the CL.
Defend the title, qualify for group stages of CL would be progress imo. This would then bring cash in that would allow us to invest sensibly for the following season.
Click to expand...

Like you, I'd be surprised if we "net spend" significant sums in the summer. I expect one of Morelos, Kamara, Kent or Aribo to go if our valuation is met in the summer.

Interestingly, the CL playoffs are concluded by 24th August, so if we did qualify for the group stages, we would have time to bring some players in.
 
Also we need a decision on Goldson and Tav early doors this summer. If they won't sign or we want to cash in it has to be done quickly so we've got their replacements in the door for the qualifiers
 
SDF said:
Also we need a decision on Goldson and Tav early doors this summer. If they won't sign or we want to cash in it has to be done quickly so we've got their replacements in the door for the qualifiers
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The replacement for Tav is currently playing a blinder in the team.
 
We have squeezed this squad to the absolute limit and have blown Scotland away.

If we keep or improve that standard we will do so next season, Champions league we have to try make an impact, Gerrard will be absolutely hungry for it.

For what its worth I reckon conversations will have already started and they will have an exact plan of whos coming and going, they'll get it done early as usual, I have absolute faith in the management and recruitment.

Not a rebuild job but we need 3 or 4 quality additions.
 
Mustang mad said:
Where is the money coming from? Noises have already been made about balancing the books this summer.
We cannot get into the mentality of spending money we do not have , on a punt at the CL.
Defend the title, qualify for group stages of CL would be progress imo. This would then bring cash in that would allow us to invest sensibly for the following season.
Click to expand...

Probably from selling an asset mate.
 
We need some pace and power in midfield someone who can run past people and get back at people and someone like Majer who plays for Zagreb who has that magic and can shoot.

Also think we lack pace up front Kent apart we don’t have much. So two midfielders and someone for the right with pace would take us up a level.

Oh and give Kamara the kitchen sink to sign a new contract.
 
We need an attacking midfielder. Something who can create and get on the end of things. We have been crying out for that for ages and it's never fully been addressed.

There's no threat or pace in midfield and adding at least one of the above would let Kamara do his correct job of defensive midfielder instead of being asked to push further forward where he's less effective.
 
Laudrup is God said:
We need some pace and power in midfield someone who can run past people and get back at people and someone like Majer who plays for Zagreb who has that magic and can shoot.

Also think we lack pace up front Kent apart we don’t have much. So two midfielders and someone for the right with pace would take us up a level.
Click to expand...

If we were to keep all of our main players we have just now those are the positions I would be looking at as well mate.
 
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